Flight
by Mike2115
Summary: Years earlier, Ahsoka Tano departed from the Jedi on her own terms. Now, the fallout of Order 66 has turned her into a fugitive as the empire begins seeking out any loose ends of the collapsed Jedi Order. Were she alone she would have little hope of surviving, but the empire's knack for making enemies may lead her to unlikely allies, some new and some old.
1. Flight

The underbelly of Coruscant still was able to thrive under the rule of the Empire. The recent additions of imperial clone trooper security was able to maintain order on the surface, but only the most undesirable patrols traversed the depths of the capital city. To increase imperial presence would only draw more attention, and attention bred dissidents. A finer touch was required for hunting in the depths of the city. Bounty hunters were sufficient, plentiful and eager for employment; In the ramshackle markets and apartment complexes built around the city's massive support structures, the hunt was law. Where one bounty hunter fell, two more would take their place. They would hunt in the gutter, while the empire kept their shiny white armor clean.

It was just such a bounty hunter that now stalked through alleyways in silence, stepping over huddled figures seeking shelter from the chemical rain the upper city produced. The figure reached the end of the alley and glanced across a near-deserted market; the rain had driven the normally bustling crowds out of the open, and those who remained were hastily shoving perishables away before they were reduced to a sludge. The bounty hunter's fingers curled around the blaster at their side. The hunt wasn't yet over; this was the only way for their target to escape. Two weeks of trailing had lead to this moment. A bounty of that size wasn't one you simply gave up on.

As they turned the corner, one of the forms on the ground of the alleyway shifted. A tattered rag was thrown aside as the cloaked figure rose silently.

The bounty hunter stepped cautiously past boxes of exotic fruits as they cleared their corners. The noxious smell of scalded flesh and burning hair permeated the air; a stall's worth of chitliks had been left in the open when the toxic clouds first rolled through, leaving the small marsupials to partially dissolve in their containers. The bounty hunter adjusted the wrapping covering their nose and mouth, turning away from the gruesome sight.

The bounty hunter crept to the edge of the nearest alleyway, peering into the darkness beyond. Their instincts told them nothing. The trail had gone cold.

On the opposite end of the bazaar the cloaked figure eyed the back of the bounty hunter a moment longer before turning into the darkness. When they were confident the bounty hunter was not in pursuit, they broke into a run.

* * *

The warehouse district was close. A cache would be waiting with essentials; a forged imperial clearance, working papers for trade out beyond the outer rim, a blaster for protection. The dark cloak moved like a fluid through the maze of pipelines, alleyways and rooftops, silently and swiftly. The dark cloak jumped down into an alleyway, landing with a roll and continuing forward into crowds of individuals just emerging from their homes with the passing of the acrid rain. The figure slowed their pace. The danger has passed, but Coruscant was no longer a viable place of hiding.

The metallic whirring and clanging of machinery echoing through the district, the figure dipped into a side alley and immediately into an unmarked doorway. The hood lowered as soon as the door closed in their wake, blue eyes taking a moment to adjust to the sudden darkness.

Something was wrong.

There was not a moment to react before the blaster shot. An instinctual movement lit up the area. The bolt of plasma careened into the doorway's control panel, sending sparks showering off cold steel with the impact. The single glowing green blade lit up the features of its togruta wielder as she stood fast. The white patterns on her cheeks and forehead, the blue and white patterns to her montrals, the lekku that extended down her chest. She stood with confidence, but she knew she was already flanked and exposed.

"Target confirmed: Ahsoka Tano," hissed the bounty hunter's voice from the shadows, parsed through a modulator. An assassin droid. "My master is expecting your body upon her arrival."

Ahsoka stood fast, trying to size up her opponent. The droid was using cover, projecting its voice across the factories many mechanical components; she wouldn't be able to pinpoint its location... unless she was able to keep it talking.

"How did your master know I'd come here," she called into the darkness as she began to feel outward with the force. She could sense the mechanism in the door straining against itself, caught in a circuit that wanted it open. She wouldn't be able to escape that way, at least not while the droid was bearing down on her. She could sense the machinery at work within the wide warehouse and her cache, hidden in a military-grade chest within a malfunctioning piston. She had yet to locate the droid.

"My master's study of you knows no bounds," The voice echoed. "She has located all of your allies, all of your hideaways. You will not leave Coruscant without her knowledge, Ahsoka Tano."

"It sounds like she's a real fan," Ahsoka shouted into nothingness. Her senses were focusing farther and farther out into the building's space, her montral's rudimentary echolocation going to work in mapping the area. "Maybe I'll sign something for her before I cut her down," she continued. A voice from another lifetime resounded in her mind: _snippy_.

"You would sooner die where you stand, Jedi."

"I am no Jedi," she let out a low growl and took a single step forward. Another blaster shot rang out with a resounding echo. She deflected the bolt, her blue eyes snapping towards the source. The metallic sheen of the droid was just barely visible in the glow of the machinery some two hundred feet away. The droid's legs bent at an unnatural angle, causing its body to lie flat against the catwalk it clung to with talon-like feet. It had a massive sniper rifle trained on her, the sight glinting in the darkness. It realized she knew where it was almost as quickly as she reacted, darting forward behind a large outcropping of mechanical parts. The sniper fired three more shots as she made a break, all splintering against the metal grating of the catwalk she was on, the blasts one step behind her. Skidding behind cover, she could see the droid right itself, hanging upside-down on the catwalk before dropping twenty feet to the foundry floor below. It landed on its feet with a heavy crushing of stone. As it darted away to find a better vantage point, Ahsoka realized what made it so unsettling; it moved with the same unnatural grace General Grievous had during the clone wars. This model of assassin droid had become mass-produced mainly for their increased ability for adaptation and mobility. A closed-quarters fight with one would be a losing proposition for anyone but her.

The area was marked only by the continued pounding of pistons below, the automated manufacturing process continuing unimpeded by the conflict within. Ahsoka raised her chin, the forms of each mechanical structure becoming outlined in her mind's eye. Even so far removed from the jedi temple, the Force was still with her.

Another shot rang out, closer this time. It entered the metal pipeline behind her, a burst of boiling steam expelling into the space she once occupied. She took off running, using one hand to vault over the railing of the catwalk. She was in free-fall for fifteen feet before landing at the base of a colossal machine that blocked the droid's line of sight, two more blaster shots streaking into nothingness. She could hear the clicking of the sniper rifle's chamber as a red-hot cartridge ejected from it's side, clattering between pipes before hitting the ground. She listened closely in the direction the droid had fired from hearing only its huge feet landed on the catwalk she had been on moments before. There was a momentary pause, a clicking, and then the slight hum of the rifle as it recharged.

Eight shots a magazine, she thought, Followed by six seconds to reload. That's when I'll have my opening.

Now she just needed to stall.

Breaking from cover Ahsoka's lightsaber lashed out as another shot fired, deflecting it into a row of transformers that burst into a ball of blue thunder that arced through the nearby mechanisms. One wall of heavy pistons gave a loud complaint as their power source was cut and gradually slowed to a crawl.

The second and third shot she stood her ground, deflecting both back at the sniper. Both shots hit the wall behind the droid as it bent unnaturally backwards, taking aim between its own legs to fire the fourth shot. Ahsoka vaulted over a control panel that exploded seconds later as it absorbed the shot. She was sent sprawling with the force of the blast. She had hoped the smoke would obscure her from view but the droid had to have some manner of infrared sight; it fired two more shots as it straightened up, one of which she was able to deflect with her saber while the other seared her thigh.

Pain wracked her body and her teeth clenched hard, her sharp canines digging into her lower lip. She was bleeding, she knew that much, but she didn't have time to inspect the wound. If she got out of this, she could heal herself later. Her right hand felt incredibly empty; if she still had her second lightsaber she would have been able to deflect that shot.

Somewhere beyond the billowing smoke the droid landed hard on a metal surface; Ahsoka couldn't see. She rolled to her feet and dashed behind a dense series of pipes. The warning labels along their side read in various languages, but the gist amounted to, Caution: Extremely Explosive. She had to move, quickly. She scanned beyond for anything she could possibly hide behind. _Two more shots_ , she reminded herself, _just need to last for two more shots._

Reaching out with the force, she lifted a nearby barrel into the air and flung it in the direction of the assassin. The momentary distraction was marked with a crashing of metal on metal. It was just enough to allow her to run from cover behind the explosive pipes, ducking behind a large piston that had stopped when the control panel had exploded.

"It is useless to hide. I have the high ground," the droid intoned as it focused on her through it's sights. "Surrender now or be destroyed, Ahsoka Tano."

 _He's got two more shots. How lucky do you feel, Ahsoka?_

Without waiting for an answer, Ahsoka jumped onto the pistol, vaulting off as a single blaster bolt shattered the piston's arm. She could see the droid taking aim at her forehead from a large control module some forty feet away. She ran across the open area with her lightsaber outstretched, springing over the pipes that bisected the area, sliding over the top of a smooth table. She felt the warm glow of the force lift her as she jumped.

The final shot rocketed past as Ahsoka's body twisted in midair. The beam of plasma passed under her arm, tickling her side. The droid pulled the trigger again but the chamber clicked. Ahsoka felt a familiar calm come over her as she arced gracefully in the air.

As her blade slashed through the sniper rifle from barrel to the stock and cleaved halfway into the droid's faceplate, the spent magazine ejected.

The assassin droid malfunctioned and crumpled at her feet as Ahsoka locked eyes with the bounty hunter that was now standing on the balcony above. The heavily robed figure had another blaster leveled at her.


	2. Desperate Times

As the assassin droid malfunctioned and crumpled at her feet, Ahsoka locked eyes with the bounty hunter that was now standing on the balcony above. The figure had another blaster leveled at her.

"I would drop the saber if I were you, Lady Tano," a female voice said from under the bounty hunter's many wrappings. Ahsoka couldn't tell what species they were, but their frame indicated something humanoid. Underneath their cloak they seemed thick enough that Ahsoka would have a hard time barreling past them.

"You've been following me, you know what I'm still capable of even when unarmed," Ahsoka growled, barring her sharp canines. She wouldn't be taken like this.

There was a slight jovial tenor in the bounty hunter's reply. "Yes, but I certainly would feel more at ease if you dropped it." They leaned forward on the railing, and their voice hardened. "Drop. The saber."

Ahsoka sized up the weapon in the bounty hunter's hands. A pulse rifle of some sort. She couldn't place the model. It looked powerful enough to get the job done. Ahsoka tossed her lightsaber aside. It clattered to the ground somewhere behind her; better to feign compliance in order to get into a more favorable position. She would get it back before her escape.

"Thank you for your cooperation, Lady Tano. Your delivery to the empire will be nice and easy. I promise I'm not cruel," the bounty hunter shrugged. The carefree attitude had returned. "This is purely a business transaction."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're the one bounty hunter in imperial space with honor," Ahsoka scoffed. She found the easy-going attitude more annoying than anything else, she would have preferred another droid. "How much is my bounty this time, anyway?"

"Four hundred thousand alive," The bounty hunter brought a datachit out from a side pocket, displaying the floating hologram to the togruta. "Not many of your kind left, especially not on Coruscant. Bounty for them has been on the rise. Scarcity and all, of course."

"Of course," Ahsoka grit her teeth. Her kind. The Jedi. The bounty hunter knew she had been exiled years ago, now she was just rubbing it in her face. The order has fallen.

"Let me show you why Jedi bounties are so high."

The bounty hunter was thrown backwards, slamming hard into the wall behind her. Her gun clattered to the metal grate of the balcony. It was in Ahsoka's hand before the bounty hunter could recover. Two beams impacted the bounty hunter's shoulder and side immediately, leaving bad burns on the cloak they were wearing. The wrappings around their head fell away as the bounty hunter collapsed, revealing dark blue skin and crimson red eyes. A Chiss woman. Ahsoka didn't recognize her.

Ahsoka jumped backwards, landing on one of the many pipes in the vicinity. She extended her free hand and her saber returned to her from the darkness, followed by the go-bag she had come all this way for.

The chiss woman was on her feet and something was thrown into the rafters above. Ahsoka shielded herself as a glass vial shattered against the ceiling, and a sudden eruption of green liquid began to rain down upon her. Her flesh seared almost immediately, soliciting a surprised cry from the togruta before the pain set in.

She jumped back again, taking stock of her injuries: the chemical burn caused her orange flesh to turn a bright red on the arm she had used to shield her face. Already welts were bubbling up on the skin. She could see the Chiss preparing to lob a second glass vial.

Without hesitation Ahsoka pointed the blaster at the explosive pipes and pulled the trigger. The force of the fireball threw her and the bounty hunter as it engulfed the ceiling. Pipes burst, mechanical structures began to explode in a chain reaction. The building rocked with the force of the explosion, followed by various smaller blasts. The sound of crashing metal signaled the destruction of the catwalk seconds before it slammed down in the center of the floor.

Ahsoka got to her feet unsteadily. A hand touched the back of her head and returned coated in crimson. She dashed out the nearest exit, a side door that she had to kick in to open.

The smoke billowing from the building was drawing more than just a little attention. Ahsoka raised her hood, the slick blood on her head-tails soaking into the fabric as she made her escape. She had been careless. That bounty hunter would have killed her.

She had to get off Coruscant. Immediately.

Before she could finish her thought she dove forward, catching herself as a blade slashed down the empty air just behind where she had been. The bounty hunter's blade let out a high-pitched hum; were togruta not hyper-sensitive to sounds, Ahsoka wouldn't have heard it coming. The Chiss woman was hunkered down in a defensive stance, a vibroblade in one hand and a vibroknife in the other. Ahsoka's lightsaber jumped back to life. They were both significantly wounded – the Chiss' was limping, Ahsoka noticed – but they were ready to fight to the death.

They clashed, the vibroblade gleaming with the black sheen of cortosis as it caught Ahsoka's lightsaber. The Chiss brought the sword around, but Ahsoka had disengaged the smaller blade in order to block the larger. Lightsaber against metal, the two continued their struggle as the building burned behind them. Sparks flew as she guided the vibroblade away from her vitals and into the buildings surrounding the alleyway they were in. Though she was reacting defensively, she continued to move further and further back as she lost ground. The Chiss was skilled with a blade – too skilled for a normal bounty hunter. Ahsoka slashed upward, aiming to carve off the Chiss' arm at the shoulder. A boot hit her in the chest, knocking her backwards another five feet. She force pushed to get distance and the bounty hunter careened backwards. Ahsoka turned and ran while the bounty hunter was thrown off-balance.

Ahsoka didn't get far before the bounty hunter caught up again, slashing across Ahsoka's chest with the vibroblade as she turned to block. The injury wasn't deep, but it got her attention. The bounty hunter lashed out, and Ahsoka fought back.

Suddenly, Ahsoka felt something quiver within the force.

"Halt!" Shouted a voice parsed through a helmet's filter as floodlights trained on the pair of them. Both Ahsoka and the bounty hunter stood fast as a unit of imperial clone troopers swarmed around them, forming a loose semicircle. "Ahsoka Tano, you're under arrest!"

"Your imperial friends come to collect I assume," Ahsoka spat, continuing to hold their standoff. However, the bounty hunter looked just as surprised as she was.

"Harena Veros, drop your weapons!"

"What is the meaning of this?" The Chiss demanded, her red eyes squinting. "I found the fugitive! We had an arrangement!"

One of the clone troopers whose regalia was more substantial step towards the pair locked in combat, his blaster still raised. "The deal has changed, Veros. On your knees!"

Ahsoka watched Harena's face shifted from shock then anger, then desperation. Harena looked to her and Ahsoka could feel the tension behind the vibroblade lessen. Ahsoka and the bounty hunter shared a look.

"I said drop your weapons and get on the ground!" The commander shouted. "Company, prepare to fire!" Nine blasters began to charge with a soft hum.

Ahsoka considered her options.

"Open fi–"

Before the commander could finish the order, his head rolled from his shoulders, a small gout of fresh blood staining the white of his armor. Ahsoka had broken the duel.

The remaining troopers opened fire. Blaster shots ricochetted around the narrow alleyway as Ahsoka's lightsaber spun, alternating between defensive forms she had written to muscle memory long ago. Harena, who had been behind her, used Ahsoka's cover to slash her way through three clone troopers before they realized what was happening. Two more fell as blaster bolts were reflected into them, burning holes into their armor. The remaining four were cut down as both Ahsoka and Harena advanced.

Ahsoka looked down at the clone troopers under their feet, recalling a time when the sight would have meant a catastrophic failure. Now, these clones were no more than agents of the empire. She still couldn't bring herself to look at their faces beneath the featureless helmets. Her attention turned to Harena, who seemed almost as winded as she was. Both of their weapons were still at their side.

"The empire went back on their word," the togruta extended her free hand, motioning towards the fallen troopers. "You can't expect credits if you bring me in. What will you do now?"

The other woman seemed to mull this over for several seconds before letting out a flurry of swears. One of the helmets at their feet was kicked down the alleyway as Harena vented. Ahsoka winced, wondering if that clone trooper had been at her side during the war. She shook it off.

Finally, Harena exhaled. "I think I broke a toe on that thick head of theirs."

"Harena. What will you do now," Ahsoka repeated, firmer this time. Her lightsaber flickered at her side.

The bounty hunter swore once more, then spat on one of the pure white chestplates beneath her. "My ship is nearby. Come with me if you want off Coruscant."


	3. Escape from Coruscant

The pair ran through the darkened streets, ducking in and out of cover as imperial probes and trooper squadrons began investigating the area surrounding the now well-charred factory. Every so often an explosion would echo from the building as chemical stores exploded, furthering the blaze.

Ahsoka was wary of the bounty hunter that now lead her away from the scene of their combat, though both of their weapons were now tucked away. Both of them had injuries that needed tending to; Ahsoka's head was still pounding from the injury she had sustained in the initial explosion and the chemical burn on her arm stung worse by the minute. At least the shot that had burned her leg wasn't preventing her movement.

Harena, on the other hand, was having trouble keeping pace; Ahsoka felt as though she was downplaying just how badly her injuries were affecting her. Every step caused the Chiss to wince. It was likely she was right, one of her toes was broken. Not to mention the blaster shots she had sustained. It was a wonder she was able to hold Ahsoka off at all.

As they rounded a corner to the ship depot, Harena put one hand out and pressed herself against the wall. Ahsoka could see a unit of clone troopers sweeping the area around a battered-looking JumpMaster 5000. Ahsoka wasn't certain if it was even able to get off the ground let alone into hyper space. Most notably...

"That's a single-person ship," Ahsoka hissed.

"You'll go in the cargo hold," Harena whispered back. "Let's figure out how to get over there first, you're in no condition to fight all of those troopers."

"Speak for yourself," Ahsoka snapped. "I'll find my own way out of here, you were the only reason I had to leave to begin with!"

"The empire knows you're here, Lady Tano. I was far from the only one on your trail. Now shut up and give me a minute," the bounty hunter tapped at a comm on her wrist. "X2, come in. switch comms to silent and confirm."

There was a moment of static before the familiar beeping of a astromech echoed from the commlink. Harena nodded. "Are you hidden?"

Beep beep.

"Good, we're getting out of here. Start the engines and wait for me to board."

Beeoo Boop Beep Boop.

"I don't care if they notice. Get ready to fire."

The comm went quiet. A moment passed before the ship's engine roared to life, startling the clone troopers. Laser fire rang out as the nose gun began scattering debris and troopers across the hangar. Those who remained standing took cover and began opening fire on the unmanned ship. Harena didn't give a signal as she darted into the open hangar, sliding past the off-guard clone troopers and vaulting up onto the ship's gangplank. She disappeared into the ship before the troopers could turn their blaster fire on her, shots rebounding off the ship's armored hull.

Ahsoka had hesitated when Harena bolted from their hiding spot, leaving her stranded outside the hangar. The clone troopers became further dispersed as the laser fire continued, breaking their ranks and causing chaos over the comm channels. The rockets on the JumpMaster kicked into gear as the ship lurched forward, slamming past crates and the enemy combatants in its way. The entire hangar was in disarray as the ship turned on an angle, scraping the hull against the hangar and the ground. Ahsoka saw the ship's only entryway turn towards her, giving a perfect route for her escape. She charged.

One of the few clone troopers still standing opened fire as she darted past, a blaster bolt arcing just past her as she ducked. Another she deflected into the helmet of another trooper with a quick lightsaber flick. She was on the access port of the Jumpmaster as more blaster shots fired in a volley from other directions.

"I'm on board, close the hatch," She shouted into a console alongside the entryway, using a force push to knock back three troopers attempting to advance into the hold. They clattered to the dirt on top of one another as the gangplank receded with a metallic groaning. It slammed closed, the muffled sounds of combat still coming through as the ship jolted forward, rocketing up and out of the hangar.

Ahsoka stepped through the airlock into a cargo hold, the sounds of orders being shouted coming through an open doorway ahead. Harena was at the helm of the ship yelling commands to a red and black-patterned astromech droid that was plugged into the ship's computer; the droid looked as if it had taken one too-many blaster shots to it's dome, which was marked with dents.

"Get that scrambler up, now!" Harena demanded. "We're marked!"

Ahsoka took the co-pilot's chair, beginning a quick inspection of the ship's defensive capabilities. Forward and backward shields were pulling heavily from the power supply, with the thrusters taking the majority of the rest. There was something wrong, there had to have been a breach for the ship's propulsion to be demanding so much energy. Ahsoka immediately stood and opened a grate in the floor, diving down into the ship's inner workings.

"Hey, what- Don't touch anything!" She could hear Harena's voice shouting from above as Ahsoka crawled back down the length of the ship. Before she could respond, the JumpMaster rocked with the impact of a rocket. Though the brunt of the explosion was absorbed the rear shields, the kinetic force caused the entire ship to quake. There were gunships on their tail.

As Harena began flying recklessly around the Coruscant aerial traffic, sensor warnings began going off across the cockpit.

"Breeewoooo woop woop!" the droid panicked.

"Yeah, yeah, I hear it! Lock yourself down," Harena called back. Two clawed anchors extended from the droid's legs, clamping into the floor as it attempted to maintain connection to the computer. The JumpMaster lurched with another explosion, then Harena sent it into a barrel roll.

Ahsoka grunted as she was pressed against the narrow passage with the centrifugal force of the spin. On top of the breach, there must have been something wrong with the g-force dampeners as well. Was this ship just a bunch of spare parts?

As the ship came out the spin, Ahsoka found the issue; a swarm of imperial buzz droids were ripping their way through the access tunnel, sparks flying under their saws and various probes as they tore up the ship from the inside. Ahsoka extended a hand and concentrated on them, squeezing her fist. The first droid crunched into itself as its casing collapsed with the weight of the Force around it. The other droids took notice of this. Some fled into the tunnel while a handful began approaching her, their weapons drawn. She didn't have room to access her lightsaber, but the force was still on her side; she crushed two more in one movement, then began backing up as the others redoubled their efforts.

Meanwhile, Harena had flown clear of the underside of Coruscant, now circling above the glowing golden city as she evaded the trooper gunships. As another warning bell gave a single wail, the cockpit suddenly went silent as the JumpMaster's power cut out. The entire ship stalled momentarily, stuttered in the air, then went into freefall. The two gunships went shooting past it.

"Don't you give up now you –" Harena slammed a fist onto the console, the monitors springing back to life. The engines caught and the ship rocketed forward, gaining on the gunships that had been in pursuit moments before.

"Give me a target lock," Harena shouted. X2's dataspike spun between settings as rapidly as it could until the beeping of a confirmed target lock rang out from one of the more staticky monitors. Harena slammed the console to clear it, then fired the frontal turret in a quick burst. One of the gunship's wings exploded and went into a tailspin, while the other deftly evaded the volley with a banking maneuver to the right. Harena matched it, banking to the left.

Ahsoka reemerged from the access tunnel, buzz droids at her heels. She stomped down, knocking several back into the tunnel. "You've got an infestation," she reported. "I can't repair the fuel line until they're out of there."

Harena swore. "No wonder we're having a harder time than usual. X2, overload the electrical, we'll have to flush them out."

The astromech gave a complaint.

"I realize you're connected to the electrical. Just do it!"

With a disgruntled chirp, X2 turned the dataspike again. Ahsoka watched as the ship's energy output rose drastically, the monitors flickering and the alarms becoming warped with the sudden shifting power. Sparks began to fly from the various consoles, lightning arcing within the access tunnel. Ahsoka quickly hefted the grate back to cover the hatch as the buzz droids attempted to scramble out, trapping them in with the overloading wiring they had cut moments before. X2 let out a series of whooping alarms before going silent, smoke rising from it's chassis.

"Take over," Harena shouted, motioning to the co-pilot's seat. Ahsoka dove in, beginning the process of manually returning power to normal before they stalled a second time. The whirring of the buzz droids had died off, at least. Harena brought up a hologram astrogation chart in the center console, tracing a line towards the outer rim.

Another rocket impacted, this time shaking the ship in earnest. Ahsoka twisted the controls, the engines complaining against her right turn. "Power was drawn away from the back shields, we're exposed!"

"Not for long," Harena completed the astrogation chart. "Hyperdrive route set!"

"Engage!"

As the view from the canopy arced away from the planet, Ahsoka caught a last sight of the Jedi Temple she had grown up in. She hadn't seen it in years, not since she walked away. Now what remained was in disarray, the statues of the old masters that stood watch over the sacred ground long since toppled. Now it was the Imperial Palace, seat of the Emperor. Red banners hung from all the entryways.

Ahsoka tried to ignore the pang of sadness that came over her as the hyperdrive kicked into gear, the JumpMaster streaking out of Coruscant's atmosphere at light speed.


	4. Connections

As the silence of hyperspace came over the JumpMaster, Harena leaned back in her seat with a long exhalation, her red eyes closed. The ship's navicomputer predicted their arrival in several hours, in which time the data scrambler should prevent any nearby imperial ships from recognizing the ship's signature. Barring all catastrophes, of course.

Ahsoka got to her feet and walked over to the astromech droid, who was still plugged into the wall. She set a hand down on his dented dome and pulled the dataspike out of the console, lying the droid down on its back. In a few moments the droid's single red ocular sensor blinked on. The remainder of its sensors whirred back to life and the mech shot up with alarm, backing away from the togruta with a series of alarmed beeping noises.

"Relax, X2," Harena said without looking up. The astromech continued its complaints.

"Lady Tano isn't our target anymore," the Chiss said, rubbing her eyes. "I don't know who our target is now. Nobody, I suppose." She sighed. "Plug back into the ship, figure out how many problems we've got before we land."

Beep boo boowoop brrrr beep. Ahsoka was no stranger to deciphering binary; the droid's comment amounted to "One really big one."

Harena huffed. "Thank you for that. Now," she wheeled the droid back to the console port, "Find one that we can repair before we're being swarmed by empire ships, while I try to figure out what made our deal go sour." She sat back down in the pilot's chair, tapping at the console.

Ahsoka watched the back of the Chiss' head for a moment, then flopped back into the co-pilot's seat. "I should thank you for the help back there," she said. "You didn't have to help me."

"The empire went back on our arrangement. Getting you off the planet was just my own vindictiveness towards those backstabbers," Harena replied. "Don't mistake it for an act of kindness."

Ahsoka watched the streaks of stars flash by through the canopy. "Well. Vindictive or not."

The astromech in the corner gave a quick bout of beeps, signaling the end of it's scan. The disagnostic ran across Ahsoka's computer screen. Physical damage to secondary thrusters, electrical overload, uncapped fuel consumption, coolant leakage, multiple hull breaches, damage to the interior systems... the list went on. It was a miracle hyperspace travel wasn't just shredding the ship outright.

"We won't be able to repair all of this before exiting hyperspace," Ahsoka pointed out. "We'll need to land, preferably somewhere populated. Some of these materials we'd have to replace. Do you have credits?"

"Credits won't be any good where we're going," Harena said grimly, brushing her dark hair out of her face to tie it behind her head. "Get working on the coolant before our engines explode, yeah?"

Ahsoka now knew why the ship was in such disrepair as the three passengers rummaged around its insides. Whatever repairs had been done in the past were far from technically sound; The coolant line was leaking around a liberally applied wrap of engine tape, the circuitry in the access tunnel has been frayed even before the buzz droids got there, and the fuel induction ports were caked with more scum than a tatooine spaceport. There was not nearly enough time to repair all of what the ship required, but Ahsoka and X2 busied themselves with clearing the buzz droids out of the hold and repairing the damage done to the electrical wiring, followed by a thorough scrub of the secondary engines.

"You have no idea how dangerous flying like this is," Ahsoka was saying as X2 passed a roll of spacer's tape to her in the ship's crawlspace. She could tell the droid wasn't thrilled to have her aboard, but it at least appreciated the extra hands. "One wrong command and this whole thing could have gone up, you know?"

Boop Beep.

Harena's voice came over the ship's intercom. "Exiting hyperspace, two minutes. Lady Tano, if you would join me on the bridge."

Ahsoka reported to the cockpit, wiping her oily hands on a rag that only seemed to make them dirtier. At least they had some medical supplies on board; her injuries from the battle had been wrapped, a small stimpak module wired into the wounds on her arm and thigh. The injuries would heal with time. Ahsoka noted Harena had patched herself up as well.

"We're approaching the Mali-Galea system, along the very edge of the inner rim," Harena explained, bringing up the astrogation chart. She pointed to galactic north-east, just beyond colony space. Mani-Galea was located in a vast expanse of untouched space practically centered between the Hydian Way and the Perlemian Trade Route, not far from Madalorian space. "It has nothing worth taking for the empire, but there are a few connections I have there that can repair the ship."

"Hopefully they're better than whoever fixed it last time," Ahsoka quipped. She couldn't help herself.

"You," Harena continued with a hint of irritation to her voice, "will be able to catch a ride to any spaceport within a parsec if you're clever enough. Knowing your bounty profile, you are."

Ahsoka frowned. "Will I be safe there?"

"Are you safe anywhere in imperial space? Sticking together is going to be a death sentence for both of us. You're a high priority target and I'm... whatever I am."

Ahsoka conceded the point. The bounty hunter had put herself in enough danger by associating with her. Though she hadn't been a high priority target in some time.

"I've got a contact on Mali-Zenai you can talk to first, but you'll have to be discrete," Harena continued. "Things fall through with that, you're on your own."

The ship exited hyperspace, the dampeners kicking in. Through the canopy Ahsoka could see a single blue-green planet quickly approaching. Mali-Zenai was closer in size to a large moon than an actual planet. Even from this far out Ahsoka could make out the large electrical storms circling its poles. Far beyond the tiny planet was a slowly rotating red sun, far larger than the planet they were approaching, which seemed just barely on the precipice of collapsing into itself some time within the next millennium. Hopefully that day wasn't today, Ahsoka thought grimly.

Harena steered the ship inward, switching on the JumpMaster's data scrambler as they entered the atmosphere. Ahsoka could see the planet's surface was entirely covered by green-tinged water. Various spaceports had been crafted on vast floating structures until large cityscapes formed. It reminded her of when she had asked about her unit's homeworld during the war. At the very least this planet didn't have constant rain, apart from on the poles.

Harena brought the ship into one large open hangar while Ahsoka manned the co-pilot's console. Harena took to the comms as soon as they landed, speaking a rapid-fire language Ahsoka couldn't identify – most likely Cheunh, she reasoned, the language most widely used by the Chiss. It wasn't suitable for study as most species were unable to form most of the sounds required to speak it. It sounded lovely, though Harena seemed to be increasingly aggravated in the course of her discussion.

"Is something wrong?"

She muted the communications. "My contact isn't interested in seeing me. Says I'm too hot right now."

She went back into Cheunh, continuing back and forth with a male voice for two or three more minutes. Ahsoka could make out the word togrutiused once; there was no direct Cheunh translation. Finally, it seemed as though they reached an agreement. Harena closed the call.

"You have an appointment, Lady Tano."


	5. Smuggler

The pair exited the ship together, each wearing their own wrappings. Ahsoka had searched around, eventually coming across a cloak she could use. Though it would not hide the montrals denoting her species, it was better than walking around completely exposed. Harena had wrapped her face in a long stretch of fabric that draped over one shoulder, the only thing visible being her nearly-glowing red eyes. The atmospheric composition of the planet was dense with oxygen which caused her already cobalt blue features to darken.

"You will be meeting with Coran'res'halanveros," Harena explained. "Coran and I have always been close. Try not to get on his bad side, I had to drop a few old debts to get you a meeting with him."

"What is he, a gangster? A slaver?" Ahsoka's eyes narrowed. The last thing she needed was to be indebted to someone who would just as easily sell her.

"He's a smuggler," Harena answered under her breath, eying a pair of passerby. "He wouldn't be one to deal in flesh. If he has any respect for me, you'll be safe under his care."

Ahsoka nodded. Though she didn't trust anyone in this situation, Harena had no reason to deceive her. "And where will you be going from here?" Ahsoka asked, still considering whether a smuggler was any improvement to her circumstances.

The two entered a three-way intersection from the south, where the thoroughfare opened up into a busy city street. One would never known they had left the depths of Coruscant were it not for the bright blue sky above.

"I'll be in attendance with a..." Harena struggled to find the right word. "less desirable companion," she decided. "He has his tentacles in all of the empire's business. If anyone knows why they turned on me so suddenly, it'd be him." Ahsoka noticed her secrecy, but didn't make a point of it. It was part of the job.

"Thank you for everything, Harena," Ahsoka said. "I hope you find what you're looking for."

Haren pointed down the path to their left. "Coran will know you when he sees you."

The two broke away from each other, now just two drifting cloaks in the crowd.

* * *

Ahsoka kept her senses open, feeling the shift and flow of the Force around her. The crowd that moved through Mali-Zenai was brimming with such an energy that she hadn't experienced on Coruscant in some time. Even with the darkness looming in the core systems, these people were able to go about their lives. Though there was tension, there was still a sense of hope. On Coruscant there was nothing. Only the empire remained.

As she walked at an even pace, she became aware of someone falling into step several paces behind her. She felt outward. There was a curiosity to them, but deeper than that was a writhing seed of a dark thought. She came to a stop, pretending to peruse a merchants stall that was selling various slabs of meat cut from various off-world creatures. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the figure stop at the next stall down.

A Rhodian. Coran had help.

The merchant behind the stall tried to talk her up, eager to make a sale. "Togruta, eh? I've got Akul meat, fresh from the homeworld," the weequay merchant said more loudly that she would have liked, slapping the large slab of meat. When she didn't respond immediately he continued, "Ah, yeah, sacred hunt and all, you probably don't want that," he trailed off as he noticing her lack of Akul teeth. It wasn't common to see a Togruta this far from their homeworld without some form of trophy from their first hunt. "But I'm sure we can find something else for – ah..."

Ahsoka was now looking directly at the merchant, her gaze piercing and her voice low. "What do you know about a smuggler named Coran?" Another disruption in the force settled in on her opposite side. She suddenly felt exposed, she needed more information.

"Smuggler – I don't – why would I," the weequay stammered, running his hands over the bony protrusions on his chin nervously. "I would never engage in – how dare –"

Ahsoka slammed a fist into the meat below her. "Someone's supplying you with Akul, aren't they? You might fool others, but those don't leave Shili unless someone ships them out. Tell me what you know about Coran," she demanded.

Before the merchant could stammer out an answer, a figure slid into view next to her. Tall, bulky, imposing. "You're making a scene, lady Tano."

Coran cast a shadow over the salesman, who was startled into silence as he backed away. Ahsoka looked up the full seven feet to the Chiss male's ruby red eyes. He was much broader and larger than Harena had been; a dark blue titan among commoners. The size difference didn't do much to intimidate Ahsoka, but it seemed to have an effect on the passerby around the stall. The Rhodian she had noticed and a zabrak woman she had only sensed stepped up alongside Coran.

"Sorry, I have a hard time trusting smugglers I don't know," Ahsoka growled, "especially when their friends try to follow and flank me."

So much for a good first impression, Snips, a voice in the back of her mind whispered. She resisted the urge to reply.

Coran slid a non-imperial form of currency Ahsoka didn't recognize to the weequay, then dipped a hand directly into the Akul meat in front of her. The uncooked slab pulled apart at the marbling into a sizable chunk, which he dropped into Ahoska's hand. "For the road," Coran said as he turned away from the stall. "Walk with me."

Ahsoka thought to leave the meat, but the groaning of her stomach reminded her just how long it had been since she last ate something substantial. She tucked it into a cloak pocket against her better judgment and fell into step next to the giant of a man.

"Harena'res'halanveros speaks highly of your abilities, lady Tano," Coran said. Ahsoka had a feeling Harena wouldn't appreciate her full name being used. "I would expect nothing less from the lost Padawan of the Jedi order."

Ahsoka was waiting for the "But" at the end of that statement. When none came, she shrugged it off. "That was another lifetime."

"It may see a reprisal yet," Coran said. The group fell into silence; it seemed he did not want to discuss business out in the open. Finally, they entered a wide open doorway leading into a storage facility for various goods, most likely illicit. The Rhodian and the Zabrak broke off from the pair to close the doors behind them.

Coran continued down the warehouse, taking a metal staircase upwards to a second level. A few beaten-up chairs were scattered throughout what might have been a foreman's office at one point, now converted into something of a lounge. Coran sat in the largest of the chairs overlooking the storage area. He motioned for Ahsoka to sit, but she remained on her feet.

They each stared for a long moment, sizing each other up. Finally, Coran chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "At ease, at ease, lady Tano, please. You and I have no issue! My sister came to me for help, I wouldn't betray her trust."

"You just seemed to know a lot about me for just a rogue looking to do a favor," Ahsoka said, glossing over the fact Harena was Coran's sister. She had a feeling.

"Now now, rogue is such a harsh way to put it. I'm a businessman," Coran waved a hand. "You're a hot ticket item right now for the empire. All Jedi are, even former ones. As a businessman it pays to know who to look out for. Harena'res'halanveros brought you to my sector of space, I'll see to it you end up somewhere comfortable. I can promise you that." He pointed to her, a pair of golden rings glinting in the light.

"How do I know you're not about to sell me out for the reward? I'd fund so many smuggling operations you'd be able to retire a rich man."

Coran made a face. "Someone with my reputation won't be running to the imperials for anything, and I'm already a rich man." He leaned forward, pressing his fingertips together in a pyramid in front of his face. "You might have to accept the fact that I just want to be of assistance."

"I've learned there's no such thing as a free lunch in this galaxy, Coran," Ahsoka fired back, tossing the untouched Akul meat into his lap to emphasize her point. "What's your price?"

Coran looked down at the bloody hunk of flesh that had landed on his pristine white pants. For a moment she felt the force around him shift to darkness as his face contorted in anger, then it passed. Calmly as he could, he picked up the chunk and crushed it in one hand. The dark blood of an Akul oozed out over his fingers and down his arm. He threw the scraps aside. Ahsoka didn't flinch.

"Harena should have told you to show more restraint," Coran said through grit teeth.

"She did. I ignored it."

Coran laughed. It was hollow. He spoke firmly but evenly, his gaze never leaving her. "My profession is one that relies on finesse, lady Tano. Anyone can become a smuggler, but I am not just an ordinary smuggler and we are not transporting spices on Nal Hutta. To perform work on my level requires pure cost-benefit analysis; what course of action benefits me the most. Assets are required to... lubricate this process. When I look at you, I do not see an asset. You, lady Tano, are a child and a liability. Maybe in your former life I could forgive any offense and your skills could have made you useful to me, but certainly not in this one. I want you out of this system before you bring the wrath of the emperor himself down to destroy everything I've worked to build on Mali-Zenai."

Ahsoka was silent; she could feel the darkness emanating from him as his anger spiked. Coran went on.

"It's only out of respect to my sister that I have not already left you wandering the nearest asteroid belt with a faulty oxygen tank. Do you understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. There will be one ship to take you off-world. It will leave tomorrow at dawn. It will drop you off on Mandalore. You will then take a shuttle to the Outer Rim where you'll live as a Hutt's sex slave for all I care. If you're fortunate, the Mandalorians will recognize and kill you before you can leave the planet's surface."

Ahsoka crossed her arms over her lekku. "It seems as though I don't have any other options." Coran didn't seem like the kind of person who would change his mind. There was no way she was going to lie down and die on Mandalore of all places, though.

Coran crossed his arms. "I'm glad we have an understanding. Get out of my warehouse, Jedi."


	6. Double-Dealing

The streets of Mali-Zenai rocked slowly with the movement of the ocean beneath. A night that seemed too early fell over the small planet as Ahsoka wandered away from Coran's warehouse, back in the direction Harena had left her ship. She had quickly realized she had nowhere else to go for the night until her ship to Mandalore set out.

The JumpMaster was parked right where it had been when they landed, though someone had wheeled in fuel canisters and crates worth of repair equipment, which were now forming small piles at the foot of the open gangplank. Whoever Harena had gone to, they certainly worked quickly. Ahsoka waited against several crates, hoping to catch sight of Harena. If anything, she felt she owed the bounty hunter an explanation. No doubt Coran would immediately report her insolence to his sister.

Are you sure you can afford to burn these bridges right now, her internal monologue chastised her. It would be bad enough without it being her master's voice. You're reckless, little one, it echoed a far-off memory that sent a pang through her heart. She tried to shake it off.

You don't get to talk to me. You're the one that wound up dead, she thought in response. She felt her own force energy darken as sadness flowed into her heart, mixing with the frustration that was already bubbling within. She was just so tired.

"Hey, no loitering," someone yelled from inside the ship. A squat Dug wearing goggles pointed at her with one of his foot-hands, a multitool shooting sparks in the other. "I got a lotta work t' do here, I don't have time for street rats trying to sell my tools."

"I'm here to see Harena," Ahsoka called back. "We flew in together."

"Harena's not here," the dug rubbed his head, smearing himself in even more grease. "She's been talking to Neelo for the past couple of hours. Probably trying to negotiate a way out of paying for all this," he muttered, looking around at the various parts he was working on.

"Where can I find Neelo?"

* * *

Neelo was a parts distributor to the east, working out of what looked to be a junkyard filled with old clone dropships and ancient trader vessels that may have been pulled out of the ocean they were so rusted. Ahsoka could hear a commotion from within as she approached – an argument, of course. She could see the blue of Harena's hands moving expressively on the inside of a hollowed-out AT-TE some hundred feet away. The entire side of the walker seemed to have been blown open by a rocket, creating an open-air interior that appeared to serve as Neelo's base of operations. Seated just beyond Harena was a lime-green and heavily scarred Nautolan that could only be Neelo, accompanied by a variety of hardened, heavily armed criminal types.

"Well, well, well," Neelo spread his webbed hands as Ahsoka approached, drawing everyone's attention to her. Ahsoka couldn't tell what Harena's expression was under her wraps, but she could feel something in the force. Disappointment? Fear? It was any number of conflicting feelings. "To what do we owe the pleasure, lady Tano?"

"I'm glad everyone knows my name on this planet, it really makes me feel protected," Ahsoka said sarcastically. "I take it you're the one who repaired –" she made air quotes – "the ship we came in on?"

"It would be more accurate to say I paid for the repairs to be made," Neelo shrugged in his seat, "but that's neither here nor there."

"You sure spared no expense," Ahsoka said dryly.

Harena ignored the quips being thrown and took a step towards the togruta. "What are you doing here?"

"My deal with Coran fell flat. I was hoping to find an alternative here," she said in a hushed tone.

"This is no place for a fugitive," Harena hissed. "Coran might have not been receptive, but this isn't worth it. Go back."

"Your friend is in quite a bit of trouble, miss Tano," Neelo said, stepping to her side. Harena seemed bothered by his proximity, but if he noticed it didn't stop him from going on, "I could get her out of it, but we still have old debts to square away before making new ones. Isn't that right, Harena?"

Ahsoka stepped in. "What kind of trouble?"

"The kind that makes you a target of the empire until the moment they put a blaster bolt in you," Neelo said casually. "It seems our mutual friend has been in league with the makings of a rebellion."

Ahsoka's head perked up.

"You know that's not true!" Harena protested.

"When the empire is involved, the truth is relative. Even if you aren't working with the resistance, perhaps this is the empire's way of saying your usefulness has waned," Neelo offered. "Or maybe you've made one or two wrong connections, or perhaps you really are the savior of the galaxy! It's none of my business. My business is knowing what the empire knows."

"Do you have a lot of contact with the empire from a junkyard in uncharted space?" Ahsoka asked, unimpressed. She had already heard one narcissist wax poetic about his noble career as a smuggler, she didn't need a second today.

"You say uncharted space, but I say strategically located. The Hydian Way to our north and the Perlemian Trade Route to our south, with Mandalore not even a parsec away? Not to mention Dathomir, The Gordian Reach, Ondoran, Kashyyyk, the pirates on Taanab – lady Tano, I hear everything,everything coming out of Coruscant and more," He motioned to the toppled AT-TE. "If the empire didn't want us to hear their conversations, maybe they shouldn't have left their toys here when the war ended."

Ahsoka looked closer at the structure. She had run many campaigns using the All Terrain Tactical Enforcers, but this one had clearly been abandoned for some time. She could see a heavily modded satellite she hadn't noticed before, a mess of metal built around one of the walker's legs that had been pointed upward when it was toppled. The consoles in the interior were churning with information. Ahsoka didn't like this guy any more than she had liked Coran, but she could appreciate his tactics.

"Harena, I like you. I respect you," Neelo continued, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her back inside the destroyed transport. "You do right by me, we do good business. You get into trouble..." He inhaled through his teeth. "Well. It doesn't do any of us any good to have the empire poking around looking for rebels on our humble little home, now does it?"

Harena was swearing in Cheunh under her breath.

Ahsoka finished his train of thought. "You want to be paid off."

Neelo let out a full-on belly laugh, throwing his head back. The tentacles that served for his hair jiggled. "To the point I see, I can appreciate that. Not paid, but perhaps we can discuss a trade of services. You and I, let's talk," he motioned to a seat. Ahsoka remained standing. Neelo was unbothered, taking the reclining seat that served as his throne.

"The empire would love you get their hands on the both of you," Neelo continued. "I'd like to get some use out of you before they do. You do a little job for me, I'll settle Harena's debt. Fair and square. With your strength," Neelo smiled at Ahsoka, showing pointed canines, "I'm sure everything will go smoothly."

At least someone appreciates what I'm capable of, Ahsoka thought. The squirming cold of the dark side returned in the pit of her stomach. Pride,her master's voice responded. She closed her eyes and concentrated for a moment, calming her mind. The warmth of the light returned slowly.

"Harena and I do one job, then we walk free. All debts settled."

Neelo nodded in confirmation.

"What's the job?"

Neelo leaned forward, folding his webbed hands. "I take it you already know Coran'res'halanveros is sending a transport to Mandalore at sunrise. I want you to destroy it, along with everyone inside."


	7. Schemes

Neelo leaned forward, folding his webbed hands. "I take it you already know Coran'res'halanveros is sending a transport to Mandalore at sunrise. I want you to destroy it, and everyone inside."

Ahsoka folded her arms, absorbing Neelo's demands. "You want me to kill civilians."

"Please, lady Tano," Neelo waved. "There are no civilians on this transport, only mercenaries under Coran's employ. All of them are being paid to be there."

"Why sabotage Coran, Neelo?" She didn't like the smuggler, but she didn't want to create any more bad blood than she had already. She might have offended him, but this would be hitting his livelihood; he would never stand for it.

"He and I have never seen eye to eye for the future of Mali-Zenai. He's interested in partnering with the Mandalorians, forming a trade route, putting us on the galactic map. I want to keep those warmongers out of our business – out of my business, in particular. If his precious shipment is destroyed in Mandolorian space, the Mandos don't get their shiny new armor and blasters while Coran believes they shot his ship down, an act of war he can't retaliate on with his paltry forces. It will spoil their relations and halt Coran's momentum. You will just be deemed a casualty of the Mandolorian's ruthless attack."

Ahsoka considered this, looking over to Harena. She also seemed thoughtful, but it was hard to tell without seeing her face.

Finally, Harena spoke up. "Should word come back that it was you who sabotaged my brother, make no mistake, he will kill you. He was never exactly known for his forgiveness. And if by some chance he doesn't discover your involvement and thinks I died in that attack, he will storm Mandalore himself."

"You won't be on the manifest, my dear. You're the pickup."

Harena balked. "Are you out of your mind? I won't be able to enter Mandalorian space with my ship."

Neelo tapped something into a datapad on the arm of his chair. A hologram appeared looking into a tucked away corner of the junkyard, where several droids were hard at work repairing the body of an decrepit mandalorian fighter. "Fully kitted out. Clean title, leather interior," Neelo chuckled to himself as the hologram spun slowly. "You get this fighter into range of Mandalore, their scanners won't know the difference between you and one of their own. Then its just as easy as landing on the planet and catching a shuttle out of the system. We'll have your ship waiting at a rendezvous point along the outer rim in full working order with a brand new identification number. Everyone wins."

Except Coran, Ahsoka thought, but that went without saying.

"How are we going to destroy the ship," she asked.

Neelo shrugged. "You've got that blade for a reason, don't you?" he pointed at her waist. Her saber was hidden under her cloak; it must have become visible at some point in the course of their conversation. "Blow the airlock, try a jedi mind trick, just do something. Mahriss-thrall," he swore, throwing his hands up, "if you cut communications long enough the Mandos will blow it up for you. Just get it done somehow."

Ahsoka frowned.

"Fine," Harena said abruptly before Ahsoka could further discuss the arangement. They looked at each other. Ahsoka believed she could see a glint in Harena's eye – like it had when the clone troopers were bearing down on them, something went unsaid between the pair. "We'll do it."

"Excellent, excellent!" The Nautolan clapped. "Rest up, both of you. Tomorrow you will continue with Coran's plan as scheduled."

* * *

Ahsoka and Harena left the junkyard at separate times, both disguising their features as heavily as possible to avoid detection. Ahsoka wandered the backstreets just in case there was a tail on her, but the force told her otherwise; she couldn't sense any of the beings that had followed her before. Coran wasn't concerning himself with her, she had already shown herself to be a non-factor. All the better, she figured.

Ahsoka had returned to the JumpMaster long after the massive sun had set on the horizon, though the night sky on Mali-Zenai was constantly tinted a shade of dark red. The planet's small size and relatively quick orbit meant that they would have only six hours of night, and already one of those hours had been wasted. It was better than no sleep at all, Ahsoka sighed.

Harena was already inside the ship when Ahsoka entered. She noted the Dug that was working on repairs already gone for the evening, but it seemed as though he had made quite a bit of headway in her absence. X2 was on standby in the corner, covered in a layer of grime and grease. Ahsoka slowly wandered up the length of the ship's cargo hold and into the cockpit. Harena was seated in the pilot's chair, the interior lights dimmed to a low glow. Harena's face was exposed; it appeared as though she had removed the cloak from her shoulders and thrown it aside upon entering. Ahsoka could see a stimpak pumping bacta fluids into the wound on Harena's exposed shoulder where her blaster shot had hit in the warehouse.

Ahsoka wasn't sure if she was meant to approach or not. She stood for a long moment in the doorway.

"I never was fond of my brother's business tactics," Harena finally said. It wasn't directed to Ahsoka, more just an outward statement. "I appreciate him for his power, but we were never particularly close with each other growing up."

Ahsoka sat down in the co-pilot's seat. "It seemed like he liked you. You were the only reason our conversation didn't end up in a fight."

"Coran'res'halanveros was always quick-tempered. I should have predicted you two would have words."

A long moment passed in silence before Harena shrugged her shoulders. "Ah, well."

Ahsoka watched as a YT-2400 took off in the distance, streaking away from the spaceport.

Harena spoke quietly. "You aren't planning on going along with Neelo's scheme, are you." It was only half a question.

Ahsoka closed her eyes, feeling the flow of the Force around her. It was a vortex that provided no answers, no direction. "I guess we'll see."

Harena didn't need force sensitivity to know what Ahsoka would eventually decide. This petty conflict wasn't her fight, they both knew it. Getting involved would draw attention, and attention would draw imperials. It was a losing proposition. She wouldn't be able to rush into things as she had when her master was at her side. The galaxy had changed.

They left the conversation at that.

Eventually, the gentle rocking of the floating city beneath lulled them both to sleep.


	8. Reunion

The loading process had already begun when Ahsoka approached the hidden shuttle bay behind Coran's warehouse, the red sun nearly cresting over Mali-Zanai's skyline. Coran was standing nearby a sizable shuttle as hovercrates were loaded into the back hatch by various species under his employ. Ahsoka caught his eye, but he didn't acknowledge her. She pulled her hood up around her face to cover her features as she went to work sliding the crates of contraband onboard. The mercenaries didn't appear to notice or care about her presence; she was just another hired hand working under Coran as far as they were concerned.

A burly-looking human took the crate out of her hands. "Make sure our pilot is prepped, Togruta," he ordered. She figured her anonymity was better than having her name thrown around. She would have to think of a pseudonym to go by when they got to Mandalore. Or didn't, she reminded herself. Ahsoka knew somewhere in Neelo's junkyard Harena was firing up the repaired fighter, awaiting the signal for Ahsoka's retrieval. The comm on her wrist slowly blinked green, meaning connection was established.

Ahsoka walked through a seating area to the front of the shuttle, where the cockpit was closed off by a heavy door. She knocked once.

The door slid open. Ahsoka prepared to step inside, but there was someone blocking her. "Just checking if you were ready," Ahsoka said quickly, turning her face away. She felt the person studying her. Something warm and familiar reached out for her in the force.

"Padawan Tano?" A small voice said. A chill went down Ahsoka's spine. She looked up.

A dark-skinned Tholothian girl stood in the doorway, clad in dark, tough-looking leathers. There was a lightsaber clipped to her belt. Ahsoka had seen that lightsaber before; she had been present when it was first built. Were togruta able to go pale, she would have. "Katooni," Ahsoka's eyes widened. The girl had to have been thirteen or fourteen by now. How long had it been since Ilum?

Katooni stepped aside, her shock still apparent on her face. Ahsoka stepped into the cockpit of the ship and the door closed behind her. The two practically collapsed into a hug. Ahsoka could feel Katooni clinging desperately to her robe. Ahsoka held tightly as the smaller girl broke down in her arms, the weight of finding a familiar face in the galaxy crashing down around them.

"I thought," Katooni cried into her chest. "I thought, we were all..."

"Shh," Ahsoka whispered tenderly, stroking her head. She could feel the raging emotions within her former student's frame; relief and sadness, hope and fear. There was nothing Ahsoka could do for her but share in her pain as she felt everything all at once. She held the child even closer to her chest.

"How did you get here, Katooni?" Ahsoka whispered. "What happened to you?"

Katooni wiped her face with a hand, letting it rest there. Her eyes were closed, but the tears continued to streak down her cheeks. "After you left," she sobbed, trying to recount as best she could, "We all took masters. I was out on an escort mission with my master when everything... everything happened."

"Have you heard from any of the others?" Ahsoka took her by the shoulders gently. "Gungi? Petro?"

Katooni shook her head sadly. "Zatt and Byph were at the temple when it was attacked. Gungi went back to Kashyyyk. I don't know where Petro or Ganodi wound up. I didn't know what to do when the soldiers killed my master." Fresh tears began to flow. "I ran, Ahsoka. We were – we were taught never to run away," she choked. "I left her. I-I ran!"

"Katooni, its not your fault. You got away. You're here now," Ahsoka said quietly, hoping to help calm her. "Your master would have wanted you to live."

"I-I... I left her..."

Ahsoka pulled her into her chest again. The emotions would keep flooding her until she wore herself out. Ahsoka could feel everything she felt, but something else began to leak its way in on the very edge of her mind's eye – anger stained the force black around her. Resentment. Hatred. Ahsoka knew Katooni could feel her anger through the force, but for once in her lifetime she allowed herself to feel it in it's entirety. One thought resounded in her mind: _How dare the empire put a child through this._

"Ahsoka," Katooni said quietly. There was a fear in the small voice that caused Ahsoka's anger to falter for a moment. Ahsoka looked down at her as she remembered years of training. The pounding in her ears lessened, the explosion of white-hot rage was lost to the moment. She was shaking.

"I'm sorry," Ahsoka broke away, wrapping her arms around herself. When she looked at Katooni she could see herself at fourteen, a padawan-turned-soldier thrust into the heat of war. It hadn't been fair. It wasn't fair to either of them. Katooni didn't deserve a lifetime of running, she deserved a childhood. Ahsoka couldn't be sure what she herself deserved.

Katooni put a hand on her shoulder. Her eyes were puffy and red with tears and her cheeks were stained, but she had the composure of someone who had survived through a lifetime of hardships. "You got away, Ahsoka," she echoed. "You're here now. There might be even more of us."

Ahsoka nodded, wiping her tears away. Despite the emotions she was feeling, a glimmer could still be found within the darkness of the Force.

Hope.

Someone banged on the door, starting them both. "Konna, we're done back here."

Katooni wiped her eyes again. "Prepped and ready," she called back, her voice still shaky. Whoever was on the other side of the door didn't seem affected by the emotion. They left.

"Ready," Ahsoka nodded. "Thank you, Katooni. It's... it's so good to see you."

"I'm so glad you're okay," Katooni nodded. "We'll talk more after we land. Ahsoka," She hesitated for a moment, then whispered a final sendoff.

"May the force be with you."

Ahsoka had not heard that phrase in years. It was a welcome warmth in an otherwise cold galaxy.

"May the Force be with you, Katooni."

The door opened. Ahsoka exited.

A sinking feeling settled into Ahsoka's stomach as she took a seat in the passenger area among the mercenaries. Her deal with Neelo still stood. _Destroy the ship and everyone inside._

Her eyes narrowed as she steeled herself. _Change of plans, Neelo_ , she thought.

* * *

The shuttle was scheduled to travel between the Mani-Galea system and Mandalore proper, a trip that generally took between two to four hours depending on the hyperspace lanes. Ahsoka could tell Katooni – or rather, Konna, as the mercenaries knew her – had become quite the skilled pilot since leaving the order. Astrogation had always fascinated her during training, she recalled. Coran must have found having a single jedi on hand useful even if she was a child, especially one willing to fly his ships. Ahsoka was certain Konna was nowhere near as impudent as she could be.

"Hey girly," a Trandoshan leaned over the back of her seat, attempting to make conversation. His breath was like rotten meat. "We've got a long trip ahead of us, we might want to get to know each other," he hissed. Ahsoka's skin crawled.

"What do they call you," the lizard-man continued, ignoring her obvious discomfort.

"Tired," Ahsoka snapped, "and annoyed. In fact," she subtly raised a hand, "I think you would prefer sitting alone for the trip."

The Trandoshan considered this. "I think I would prefer sitting alone for the trip," He hissed as he rose and walked to the back of the shuttle's seating area, putting several rows between him and the other mercenaries.

Ahsoka sunk back into her seat. _If only they all were so weak-willed_.

The mercenaries talked amongst themselves for the majority of the trip, but Ahsoka refrained from making any commentary. Instead she pulled her legs up under herself and began a quiet meditation, focusing her energies inward.

She had never been good at meditating. Anakin hadn't been an expert of meditation either, but he knew enough to stress its importance in times of need. She had spent a good portion of time on Coruscant meditating before the empire took over. It was significantly harder to focus when a target was painted on your back.

* * *

The Force reached out for her, enveloping her form like a warm bath. The ship fell away around her sense by sense. The sound of the engines dulled to nothingness, the slight shake of the cabin becoming imperceptible. She was floating in darkness.

She could feel Katooni ahead in the cockpit, her own energies focusing. She seemed to have kept up her training. Far beyond but rapidly approaching she could feel a darkness; Mandalore loomed in her vision, its surface almost pure white. She could remember the feel of its gravity on her shoulders as her troops formed a defensive line against the Death Watch; the smell of its dirt as their walkers kicked up dust storms in their wake. She could see Bo-Katan and the Nite Owls she led in the charge; she could see Rex and the 501st as they fought against unseen enemies. Her memory quickly turned to a burst of red and green as she clashed with Maul. Power exuded from him in her recollection, his face was nothing more than a red pattern in the shadows.

 _Mandalore is lost, Lady Tano_ , His voice taunted. _The Duchess is dead. Your siege may usurp me, but it is for naught_.

Her heartrate quickened. As Maul overpowered her she was pushed back, the bodies of clone troopers littering the royal palace of Sundari. She could see Rex facedown, his weapons scattered. Bo-Katan's helmet rolled at her feet, the head still inside. It seemed as if Maul was weilding a dozen lightsabers at once. Ahsoka stepped backwards over a body; it was Anakin's.

 _Now you return to me_ , Maul whispered. _So that you may witness the results of your failure firsthand_.

Fires began burning in the capital city. As she watched, the massive planet became engulfed in flames and crumbled into dust.

As she was distracted, Maul stabbed her in the stomach. She felt her insides begin to melt under the heat of his lightsabers. He wrenched. She let out a single gasp as the red blades pulled her apart at the waist.

* * *

Her eyes opened with a snap just before the ship exited hyperspace. Sweat was dripping down her face, her heart was racing in her chest. She watched from the shuttle's small windows as the soft blue of hyperspace faded away. Ahead, the planet of Mandalore loomed.


End file.
